Moving from practice to academia: Addressing the faculty shortage in health information management education

Health Information Management (HIM) programs are experiencing faculty shortages due to retirement and the inability to attract HIM practitioners to the field of academia. The purpose of this study was to identify practitioners in the health information management profession who may wish to make a career change from practice to academia. Participants were asked to identify factors that would encourage or discourage them from considering a career in education. Respondents indicated the types of educational activities in which they had participated and the extent of their knowledge of the roles of faculty.;An on-line survey was sent to 800 active members of the American Health Information Management Association. This was a nation-wide survey. The hypotheses and research questions were analyzed using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics. Comments from participants were evaluated to identify major themes.;The results of the research indicated that HIM practitioners do consider academia as a career but do not know how to go about pursuing this path. Factors that would encourage a practitioner to consider a career in academia are the ability to work with students, the desire for a change in career, personal independence in work life, and a variety of work activities. Practitioners who had served as part-time faculty or as a guest lecturer are more likely to consider a career in education. Factors that would discourage practitioners from considering a career in academia are salary and the lack of financing necessary to obtain an advanced degree. Practitioners have a good understanding of the roles of faculty.;The study revealed that practitioners do in fact consider a career in HIM education. Program directors must develop a faculty recruitment strategic plan that would include retirement plans for existing faculty. This would include a timeline for recruiting replacement faculty. A mentoring program should be developed in which a practitioner can be partnered with a faculty member who can serve as a coach. Program directors must develop strategies for recruitment that would educate interested practitioners and provide a framework for moving from practice to academia.